Scotland find another new way to lose, but the future looks bright
Just when you thought Scotland had exhausted all possible routes to losing a game, inflicted every grievous act of self-harm and taken a lifetime’s worth of misery, they found a new way to heap despair upon themselves.
Stuart Hogg is a fabulous rugby player and may very well grow into a fine captain. If you wanted the ball in the grasp of any Scotland player with the Irish try-line – and no Irish defenders – beckoning, it would have been him. Hogg is big enough and smart enough to accept that his failure to dot down was a cataclysmic error, a mistake that will gnaw at him in quiet moments and be televised and tweeted and talked about endlessly in the days ahead. It was utterly unfathomable.
Hogg will know too that while he will be the story and to some, the villain, it is not solely because of him that Scotland lost – far from it. They should have taken seven points from that venomous foray early in the second half, but still left with three. They had a ridiculous glut of golden field position and grimace-inducing, must-score moments but couldn’t make any of them count. Their list of butchery runs as long as the Clyde, but here is the potted version.
One man in particular came in for plenty of praise following France's impressive defeat of England.https://t.co/i7GNGzY4T8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
With 90 seconds on the clock, Scotland power into Ireland’s 22, a rousing premonition of the snarl to come, but are penalised for holding on. It’s the Test match in microcosm. On 20 minutes, they spill from a line-out drive. Four minutes later, another penalty for not releasing. Five minutes after that, they cough up the ball in contact and in the last minute of the half, yet another call of holding on goes against them.
On 45 minutes, Huw Jones shimmies and arcs on a glorious outside break, but his pass finds Jordan Larmour, not Nick Haining or Sean Maitland outside him, both of whom have a clear gallop to the line. On 50 minutes, Ali Price lofts a sloppy, chase-less chip in the vague direction of the corner flag.
He gets lucky – Ireland make a hash of running it back and a minute later comes Hogg’s clanger and an Adam Hastings penalty. With three minutes left, Scotland are pummelling furiously at the Irish line. Their juggernauts take them to within a foot of the paint. A score seems certain, and yet it isn’t. Holding on. Penalty Ireland. And in the final attack in the final minute of the match, they spill another one at the base of a ruck.
We won't be seeing Finn Russell in Murrayfield this weekend.https://t.co/eQhjthsrnP
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
In total, there were at least 11 visits to the Irish 22 and six points to show for them. In their past four games against Ireland, Scotland have now scored only two tries.
Four of those deep Scottish raids ended in Irish penalties for holding on. In the end, Scotland conceded 14 to Ireland’s nine. Not all of them were correct. Mathieu Raynal, the French referee, often allowed the breakdown to degenerate into lawless warfare, a pugilist’s battleground to which Scotland laboured to adapt. Every team cheats at the ruck and every team sneaks offside as prolifically as they can; the simple truth is that Ireland are much better doing it and getting away with it than Scotland.
A callow team with new voices in the coaching staff and new men on the field can be forgiven for their lack of streetsmarts, but not for passing up chance after chance and possession after possession like this.
World Rugby introduced the five second law at the base of the ruck to counteract the rucking conga, yet the problem still exists.https://t.co/TIxuUiCZKj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
The colossal wastage is all the more gut-wrenching given the magnificent work Scotland did to repeatedly launch themselves in to the danger zone. Not for an age have they matched, and often bettered, a physical juggernaut like Ireland for aggression, belligerence and forward power. Not for an age has the Scotland scrummage been more than stable platform but a real weapon. The big men of the pack stepped up in a very big way. Defensively Scotland were more resolute than they were for the entirety of last year. The way they spoiled and sacked the Irish maul was joyous.
Gregor Townsend’s strategy fitted the players he used and a game like this will seriously ease the pressure on him after a dismal 2019. There was a blend of high-tempo, Glasgow-esque razzle and bruising dynamism from the heavy artillery.
And there were some immense performers out there. You could name-check and lionise virtually the entire pack, the grunt of the front three, the tireless effort of the locks and the brilliance of the back-row, but two of the new men made especially seismic impacts.
Rory Sutherland was a demon in the loose and a force at scrum-time on his first Test outing in nearly four years. Sutherland has fought back from a hideous double-adductor rupture that put him in a wheelchair for weeks with an extreme diligence. Scotland have long lacked a loose-head who can shunt in the tight and plunder yards in open prairie but Sutherland, fit at long last, looks like the answer. The number one jersey is now emphatically his.
A performance full of enterprise from Wales against a lacklustre Italian side has left Wayne Pivac with a few selection dilemmas ahead of Dublin, according to @OwainJTJones https://t.co/dYuZIyIoc6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 3, 2020
At number eight, tossed into the Aviva shark tank on his first cap Haining delivered an exceptional display. Less than three years ago, he was playing for Jersey Reds in the second tier of English rugby.
He has only made eight appearances for Edinburgh, none of them against the biggest and deadliest opposition. But he brought such confrontational explosiveness in everything he did, dynamiting Irish carriers, spearing Scotland forward. This is the back-row dog the team have needed.
You have to praise the class of Hastings when so much had been written and rumoured about Finn Russell’s exit from the camp and fortnight back and what Scotland were going to do without him.
Hastings was very impressive on his first Six Nations start. He is not on Russell’s level yet but he is flying at Glasgow and absolutely ready for a run of Tests. Would Scotland have fared better with their main man at the helm? Quite possibly. A flourish of Russell wizardry might have applied the final touch of ruthlessness, but even without him, Scotland ought to have gone over at least once.
https://twitter.com/AndyGoode10/status/1224290381250158592
Outside Hastings, Sam Johnson was monstrous in possession but shipped one brainless penalty without it. Jones still looks a little limp in defence but near his riveting best when surging forward on the ball.
All of this good stuff, so many positives to point out, and yet the upshot is the same. Ireland hung on and hung on and hung on some more, but in the biggest moments, legally or not, they landed the most telling blows. Defence often wins games, and Ireland’s is pretty damn relentless.
Scotland’s flaws remain. A maddening red-zone impotence, a vulnerable line-out, and a frequently dense lack of discipline. They bossed Ireland in a hugely encouraging way for chunks of the contest.
They played more rugby, beat more defenders and had over 60% of the second-half ball. How they didn’t score is a puzzle that would have had Einstein scratching his bonce. This may be the launch-pad for a heartening championship, but in the cold light of day, it is a whopping missed opportunity.
Watch: Sonny Bill Williams’ Toronto Wolfpack debut ends in defeat.
Comments on RugbyPass
Pick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
15 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
15 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
15 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
15 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
15 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
15 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
15 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to comments